Union Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi  said Coal India Ltd. (CIL) will offer its 20 closed or discontinued underground coal mines to the private sector to reopen and bring into production on revenue sharing model. The Ministry organised an investor meet in Mumbai to sensitize the private sector about the offer.

Speaking at the meet, Joshi said the target of the Coal Ministry is to minimise the import of thermal coal and to make the country Aatma nirbhar or self reliant in the sector.

Joshi further said that not long ago, people used to say the need for coal is going to reduce but we are currently witnessing surge in coal requirements’. He added ‘Extractable reserve in the closed/discontinued coal mines is around 380 million tonnes, 30-40 million tonnes of coal can be easily extracted from the mines.’ He further said ‘the continuation of mining activities will help in increasing coal supply to TPPs while creating employment opportunities for local people.

He further said the country is witnessing a revolution in the energy sector. The government’s efforts for electrification in remote areas, changing fuel choices in transport, modern lifestyle have led to increased demand for electricity, he added.

‘While we are stressing on developing renewable sources of energy, coal is also going to be one of the major contributors in energy production’, he added.